History of the Automobile
The humble automobile has changed considerably since Henry Ford invented Model T in 1908.
With new technologies encouraging people to develop a sense of personalisation with their everyday products and devices, why should the automobile industry miss out?
In the past 20 years, innovation in the car industry has produced working vehicles of the future, today! With increasing pressure to tackle fuel emissions, car manufacturers are leading the way in developing the environmental car of the future. According to JP Morgan, they estimate that by 2025, electric vehicles (EV’s) and hybrid electric vehicles (HEV’s) will populate approximately 30% of all vehicle sales. (Source: JP Morgan)
More progressively, luxury car manufacturers are excited about the prospects of having more interactions with the car owners after the car driven off the dealership- enhanced digital experiences will open avenues for additional revenue client retention, BMW’s VP of Digital Products and Services Dieter May stated that technological development is ‘also building out the car as a channel and touchpoint at the same time’.
With this in mind, manufacturers are working with mobile developers to develop ways for users to communicate better with their cars.
The Problem
I lose my car key often, but I am concerned about the security of a car key app
The fundamental item for accessing a car is the car key, but even this key instrument is becoming archaic as car technology progresses. However, concerns arise with the development of this technology and the subsequent security.
Brief
A well known car manufacturer is looking to launch an iPhone app which will allow car owners to utilise their iPhone to replace the need of traditional car keys and more.
Objectives
- To design a positive user journey for a car app
- Follow Apples Human Interface Guidelines in design methods
My Role
UX/UI Designer
Land Rover
I decided to take this brief and look at develop a car app for their luxury SUV’s. Land Rover developed their most popular Range Rover in 1970, and their 2020 global campaign has focussed on targeting a younger, urban and more female demographic. Keyless entry has become a prerequisite for the newer models but security still is a major concern. In 2015, Range Rover recalled 65,000 due to software faults which could have led to increased theft in their models.
The current app that Land Rover focusses on the basic functions of accessing the car, has elements of personalisation and climate options.
Although the current app functions quite well, there can be improvements made in the aspects of understanding the security of the vehicle, giving users increased peace of mind in order to utilise the app more.
Design Process
Business Research
Competitor Analysis
I carried out a competitor analysis to get a better idea of what Range Rover’s competitor were. I identified three other luxury brands with starter prices of £30,000 and above. I wanted to determine how they’re current applications functions more or less positively than Range Rover.
Red Route Analysis
Completing this Red Route analysis has highlighted the key features that car users frequently use. The insights I gathered from this task were:
- Active features such locking/unlocking the vehicle were fundamental for all car users
- Additional features such as subscription services were not as commonly used due to the restrictions on participant’s current cars
- External servicing like roadside assistance were not frequently used but most users noted that it was necessary at least once a year.
User Research
User Persona
User Journey Map
I expanded on my User Persona to make a fictional narrative of the process I believe my user would use to go towards car ownership.
User Questionnaire
I created a questionnaire to give me a better understanding of the future users for my car app. I surveyed a varied group of drivers aged 26–60. I ensured that the questions asked were open ended, to ensure I was able to get unbiased feedback.
These were the questions I asked:
How often do you lose your car key?
How does losing your car key make you feel?
How safe do you think a digital car key is?
What features do you love on your mobile phone that could enhance your driving experience?
New cars are integrating mobile technology as part if their car designs. Describe how you think a mobile car app would benefit your daily life?
How confident would you be using a mobile phone app to access your car?
What features give you peace of mind when thinking about car security?
Would you purchase a car if the key was only accessible through a mobile app? Why/why not?
What features/services must your next car have?
Results
Affinity Mapping
Insights from my user interviews:
- I had a 100% negative response from participants who have lose their keys, which means that users would benefit from utilising a car key as an app
- The majority of my participants reacted positively to the use of a mobile car app and felt optimistic with using one in the future
- Less than 50% of participants felt that a car app would be safe, so security would be paramount when thinking of the design of the app
- Users are interested in looking for new technologies in their future cars, including voice control, keyless entry and fingerprint access.
Ideations
Discussing the ideas with the Love Circular team helped us to look at the problems and identify solutions for our future designs.
Worst Possible Idea
I decided to ideate about the worst possible design ideas when thinking about a mobile car app. This was helpful because it helped me to eliminate design features that would not be realistic.
I thought about all of the results that I collected from my business research and user interviews, and realised that when designing I would have to make sure that the most important features, lock and unlocked features, GPS and voice activation have to be focussed on the main page of the app.
Crazy 8s
Draw 8 different designs within 8-minutes so to encourage the design process, spending an average of one minute per design to take ideas back to be feedback to users.
I realised that my designs were too elaborate to begin with and therefore ran out of time but the time I got to the 8th design, but this exercise was important to stimulate design ideas.
Design Process
Low Fidelity Wireframe
Mid Fidelity Wireframe
I expanded on the design on the main page being inspired by the inside of a car. Buttons were placed on the “wheel” and the option to scroll in a carousel movement similar to the left/right motion of a steering wheel.
High Fidelity Wireframe
Details that I edited in the final design included:
- Highlighted the car image to identify when the car is locked or unlocked
- Centralised the additional option buttons so they fit in line with the rest of the design
UI Phase
I kept in mind Apple’s Human Interface Guidelines whilst developing this design mainly by ensuring that the images were centrally positioned to keep different aspect ratios in mind for different phone sizes. I kept animations minimal so that users could stay engaged with the app as it would be something to be used everyday. I used the San Franciso typography to comply with the IOS developer’s requirements.
Design System
UX Laws
WCAG guidelines
I made sure that ensure that there was a good balance of non-text content, that visual presentation was less than 80 characters and considered the 60/30/10 rule to try and give balance to my design.
UI Summary
I wanted to stylise the driving experience within my design, and made sure that I followed Land Rover’s overall brand identity. I believe that I was able to follow through with this positively in my designs.
I made special focus on the security features as this was one of the main concerns for my research participants.
On reflection, I felt that I could have expanded on the option in the H1 banners to demonstrate alternative options for the user.
Conclusion
Overall, I enjoyed the process of redeveloping the app for Land Rover’s Range Series. I found the research that I developed in the UX phase really shaped my UI design. It made me realise that empathy is really at the core of good design and as long as you are maintaining your user needs or enhancing them, you will continue to maintain your customer’s trust and loyalty.
Moving forward, I would have liked to gather insights on my final designs so I could expand on the design further but due to time constraints this was not possible, however it will be something I intend to do moving forward with redesigns.
Special thank you to everyone that contributed to the development of this case study, I would not have been able to do it without you.
Deborah Boyd
